£13m bargain: Player is now shining in CL after Arsenal missed out, West Ham also held talks

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Back in the summer, Arsenal and West Ham both expressed an interest in signing Giovanni Simeone.

It was 90min who claimed that West Ham held talks to sign the son of Diego Simeone, whereas Gazzetta dello Sport revealed that Arsenal were keen on his services.

The Argentina international was on the market for a bargain sum of just €15.5m (£13m) after shining for Hellas Verona, although it was Napoli who wrapped up a deal.

Now, Mikel Arteta and David Moyes will surely be kicking themselves.

Simeone shining after Arsenal & West Ham missed out

Well, the South American was mainly signed by Luciano Spalletti as a backup for Victor Osimhen, although he is arguably staking a claim for a starting role at the moment.

Last night, Simeone scored twice against Rangers in Group A of the Champions League to maintain Napoli’s 100% record in the competition, taking his tally for the season to six goals in just ten appearances.

Even more impressively, only two of those outings have come as starts, so the 27-year-old is proving to be a real nuisance coming off the bench.

Simeone has played a huge role in Europe for Napoli this season. Four of his six goals have come in just four Champions League appearances – remarkably, it is his first campaign in the competition.

In doing so, the Napoli No.18 has become just the second Argentine to score four goals in his first four Champions League appearances. The first? His father, Diego.

Arsenal & West Ham missed a big opportunity

In our view, the Gunners and the Hammers actually did well with their recruitment in the striker department.

Arsenal managed to sign Gabriel Jesus in a respectable £45m deal from Manchester City, whereas West Ham landed one of the hottest prospects across Europe in Gianluca Scamacca.

However, there is no denying that Simeone would’ve been a smart signing for just £13m.

Players who can make an impact from the bench are invaluable over the course of a season, something Napoli are all too aware of as they sit top of Serie A and also Group A in Europe – remarkably, they have now won 12 games in a row.

If Simeone fires them to silverware this season, Arsenal and West Ham will kick themselves even more.